Cut Too Deep by KJ Bell

testify to her mental health and worrying about threats from Mr. Duwatski would only cause her distress. Nonetheless, she would have to decline any additional offers from Mac to dance in abandoned warehouses. Any behavior deemed inappropriate by the court would mean Harold Duwatski would be put back in charge of her affairs and her life. Worse than that, though, it would mean she would have to report to him weekly. Those visits come with a high cost, detrimental to her future well-being. She wouldn’t allow that to happen.
    It figured her former guardian would show up and ruin her newfound happiness. For years he’d made a habit of crushing anything Hadley found joy in. She loved dancing out in the open with other people who shared her love of the art as much as she did, but she wouldn’t risk her freedom. She would continue to dance alone and secluded in her little apartment, the only safe place for her, the only way she could maintain control of her life.

H adley tossed the bag of Chinese food in the refrigerator. Her appetite ran away the second she smelled the big ape, and she didn’t anticipate its reappearance any time soon.
    She turned on the evening news and waited patiently on the couch for the segment on Miller. After a brief report on the dismal economy, the perky news anchor said his name. The anchor’s face lit up as she spoke about the newsroom phones ringing off the hook with women requesting the address again to write him. Once the address was displayed, she reported there was nothing new concerning Miller’s detainment and the Thailand government was being extremely hush-hush about the entire incident in hopes of not escalating the already delicate situation with the Militia.
    Hadley’s curiosity as to why Miller traveled to Thailand had been getting the best of her. The reported story about his trespassing was obviously an excuse to defend his detention, but didn’t explain the purpose of his trip. As far as Hadley knew, Genetti Industries dealt in military and government contracts in the US. From what little she had read, Miller was a genius that developed some kind of robotic shield to offer soldiers a few minutes of invisibility on the battlefield. The technology had been responsible for saving thousands of lives. Supposing Genetti Industries did business globally, Hadley assumed it would be with Europe or American allies in the Middle East, not Thailand.  Then again, Hadley admitted to knowing zilch about Miller’s business, let alone military operations.
    After watching an old and truly awful, made for TV movie, Hadley crawled into bed and read for a couple of hours. She drifted to sleep with the reader still clutched in her hands.
    With enough light from the street lamp outside the window for her to see, Hadley glanced around. She wondered how she ended up in her childhood home. Her eyes roamed over the family portraits on the wall. She walked cautiously down the hall to her parents’ room to see if they were home. Her brain registered the impossibility, but her spirit skyrocketed. A feeling of inner peace rippled through her.
    Time didn’t exist in dreams. For a fleeting moment, Hadley considered the horrible existence she lived all these years was merely a lengthy nightmare. In her newly awakened state, she couldn’t wait to reunite with her parents. When Hadley opened the door to their room, cold harsh reality slapped her in the face as she stared down at her dead mother.
    “Hadley.”
    Her head whipped around toward the familiar voice that sounded too frightened to be him. Someone Hadley didn’t recognize dragged Miller down the hall. His hand reached out for her as he continued to call her name in a desperate cry.
    “Miller, what are you doing here?”
    “Hadley.”
    His eyes smoked with fear. He sounded like a scared child, rather than the confident and composed man Hadley had grown accustomed to.
    Her hand reached out for his, but there was only air, her hand as empty as her